ARCHITECTURAL METAMORPHOSIS AND URBAN METAMORPHOSIS
In the last 50 years, we have built as much as we had in the previous centuries and at times we have built too fast. Architecture, like a city, is built on a culture and rises and is nourished by history. Neighborhoods saturate, stratify, empty, transform, and metamorphose. Creating with what already exists is a unique opportunity, a powerful asset. Contemporary architecture, like the urban approach, must conquer a challenge. It must reflect its time, be conscious of its transformation and look to its future while respecting its past. Facing “monumental” architecture that is lasting but stable, there is another architecture that is transformable and caries energy,
light and potential… This architecture of adaptation, of transformation, that can be appropriated, this is what I’ve always wanted: architectural palimpsest. With changing utilization and new safety norms, demolition is not the only option. It is necessary that the extension of a site or the renovation of existing buildings be a part of a profound, yet smooth, metamorphosis. For me, to rehabilitate is to adorn the existing structure; to give a new life to old buildings without loosing the essence, and of course, without loosing sight of new constraints. Overcoming environmental problems entails accentuating comfort and energy saving solutions, but it also involves custom design. It can not only consist of duplication and reproduction. When it is a question of deconstruction and construction, I rely on my experience to study the spaces, the structures, the heat capacity, the spaciousness, the shapes, the materials, but also on the climate, the orientation, the openings, the light, the interior and exterior, and the environment. When focusing on the other objective of architecture which is housing, improving energy performance also implies building with diversity, keeping in mind the pleasure of living in a home. It also implies thinking of the real needs of houses that grow and shrink along with the blending of families, and thus these structures remain the vector of a profound social transformation.

ALAIN SARFATI